Mike Ning

Kansas City jazz pianist Mike Ning was born in Shanghai, China on July 11, 1940. H relocated to Kansas City in 1964 to the familiar mix of art and music. He started hanging out at the Musicians Union, got to know many of the local players, and started his first trio which became a hit at the 1965 Kansas City Jazz Festival. Influences for Mike came from American television (Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" scores) and the playing of such renowned pianists as Andre Previn, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson and George Shearing. Mike's was a life of art study during the day, and music at night and on weekends. It would be the former that would take him to Kansas City and make him a permanent jazz fixture.